Community Tasting Note

• MRonan83 wrote:

  January 15, 2024 - Anyone feel the new release price on the Elysian is high along with other releases? Years past they have flown off the “shelf” with an allocation of 3 max but now with an allocation of 6, you can still buy. It never use to get to second tier allocation available. I’d love to support Mike and Leah because they are great people and at this price it’s becoming unobtainable for their long time supporters. Just me thinking this?

  5 people found this helpful 2,929 views

22 Comments

• wren460 commented:

  1/15/24, 8:27 PM - No, you are not alone. I did bought 3 Elysian this past offer but I think it will be my last. For example I bought 6 Maybach Materium today and their price increase is much less than Myriad. It pisses me off than quite a few wines have doubled their price in a few years. I am not going to support them. Lots of great Spanish, Argentinian, and even French wines have remained in the same price or with very little increase.

• City Squirrel commented:

  1/15/24, 8:45 PM - Nope, you are definitely not alone. '19 was my last. The '14 Elysian was $160. As you noted, there are too many alternatives to be had, especially when you are pushing into the $250+ stratosphere.

• Geaux Tigers commented:

  1/16/24, 6:10 AM - Nope, there’s a whole thread on Myriad on WB lamenting the same thing. Unfortunately, looks like $245, where Bevan released its ‘21, is now the floor for Dr. Crane.

• PDXWineO commented:

  1/16/24, 12:47 PM - Their pricing has become a joke. Going from $150 just a couple years ago to what it is now is a slap in the face to long time buyers. I'm out on buying any more of their wine via the allocations.

• ledocq commented:

  1/16/24, 1:35 PM - I have mixed feelings. I've been on the list since the 2012 vintage, and I dropped out recently ($). But I can't fault the winemakers for noticing that retailers have these for $350 and up. I've lost out on continuing to participate, for which I blame unfettered capitalism.

• blarmston commented:

  1/16/24, 2:30 PM - I blame Putin for all these price increases.
  
  Just kidding.
  
  I blame Jerome and the doubling of M2 money supply over the past 4 years, and the rest of the Fed for pinning rates at 0% for what, 14+ years?
  
  Just kidding- I do blame Vlad, he's the scapegoat for everything.
  
  And before someone on here takes offense, just kidding (although the Fed part is true)...

• TastesGoodToMe commented:

  1/16/24, 3:29 PM - Blarmston - I thought your post was hilarious.
  
  I have also noticed the meteoric rise in the price of Myriad (particularly the SV bottlings) which is causing me to cut way back. For example, here are highlights of prices I have paid for Myriad Dr Crane since starting in 2010:
  
  2010 $100/btl
  2015 $125/btl (25% increase over 5 years)
  2020 $175/btl (40% increase over 5 years)
  2022 $250/btl (43% increase in only 2 years!)
  
  I conversed with Leah via email about the prices. She blamed it on the price they are paying for fruit. I also have to think though that with the critical acclaim, they are also charging a premium to what they use to make - which I cannot blame them for doing. We would all do the same. Mike has worked/perfected his craft. He now has his own cult following like a lot of the Napa greats and he should get what the market will bear.
  
  Unfortunately, my pocketbook has reached its limits. I dropped the auto allocation and will have to pick and choose wisely and at much lower total number of bottles. There are plenty of really good Cabernets available that are more affordable. What a shame though. Means some person without my appreciation or history with Myriad will be buying these wines becasue he can afford them and I cannot (or maybe I should say I cannot justify the cost). Lucky him. Lucky Mike Smith. Boo for me!

• RayT commented:

  1/16/24, 4:37 PM - I was shocked by the price increase. I also stopped buying in 2019. While the Dr. Crane Elysian is good I have never found it to be in the same class as a Vice Versa Dr. Crane and now they are the same price. I picked up some 2016 Alpha Omega Dr. Crane for $225 and 2019 Arrow and Branch Dr. Crane for $229 from Benchmark. I have supported Mike Smith wines for years but part of the reason was how well priced they were compared to others for Beckstoffer wines. I will probably reverse my buying and just buy the NVD's and no more Beckstoffers.

• RayT commented:

  1/16/24, 4:43 PM - Geaux Tigers the problem with the Bevan Dr. Crane is they charged $42 for shipping for the Dr. Crane just like they did for the Calixtro that also got a 100 pts. from someone. Very deceiving.

• Geaux Tigers commented:

  1/16/24, 5:36 PM - Agree that shipping costs are getting out of hand and frankly quite frustrating. I paid a little less than $10 a bottle to ship the Bevan, while Rivers Marie was $6 a bottle (subsidized maybe), and I passed on Outpost today at $17 a bottle, all ground. Don’t get me started on folks who don’t offer ground ;)

• btscott commented:

  1/16/24, 5:55 PM - Same boat. Bought 2 of each this go round. But, probably my last as well. Will stick to the lower tier Myriads at this point.

• wine247365 commented:

  1/16/24, 6:58 PM - Certainly, no more Elysian for me! I’d love to hear the winemakers discussing the effects of some of their latest pricing moves as they’re generally not indiscriminate. Some wines much higher as $$$ and %, like E, while other makers either haven’t raised as much and maybe have done so with a consistent across-the-board approach.

• lockestep commented:

  1/17/24, 3:02 AM - I passed on the offer. I got on the list to get access to well crafted Napa cabs at a reasonable price. Reasonable is in the rear view at this point. Will still get the lower level wines but even they are getting to the point where competitive wineries are out there at significantly lower cost.

• sean7711 commented:

  1/17/24, 6:54 AM - TastesGoodToMe - I have to wonder about the accuracy of the fruit prices. Doesn't Beckstoffer price based on what the winery charges for a bottle? Maybe this applies for some of the other vineyards they purchase from.
  
  I stopped buying Myriad with the 2020 bottlings when they increased prices on an off-vintage. I know supply chain/inflation was an issue but it just felt...wrong. It sounds like 2022 is a challenging vintage too from all the heat spikes. With these $40-50 price increases, I will wait to taste them out in Napa this summer before opening my wallet.

• MRonan83 commented:

  1/17/24, 7:42 AM - Glad to hear I’m not the only one. Guess this just means that I need to hold everything I have for special occasions since I won’t be replacing much. I will say that Becklyn has done a decent job of keeping prices a little lower.
  
  Lockestep - what are some of the other wineries that you are starting to buy from? I’d love to find another small producer to support.
  
  Anyone else have some recommendations?

• City Squirrel commented:

  1/17/24, 8:02 AM - If anyone is interested on some of the backdrop on how we got to this place with Beckstoffer fruit, this was a very good article I read years back....actually becoming a bit dated now (2015), but I'm sure it's only become worse. https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/at-what-price-to-kalon

• Geaux Tigers commented:

  1/17/24, 8:22 AM - Some other smaller ones with pretty good pricing that we love in no particular order: Cresta Velia, William & Mary, Di Costanzo, Mi Sueno, Evidence, Beta/Jasud, Roy Piper, Tidings, Black Sears, Pezzato, L’Envolee, Cimarossa, Trespass - I’m sure others have some great suggestions as well which I’m looking forward to seeing. Great thread!

• wren460 commented:

  1/17/24, 8:54 AM - I Know MRogan is not asking what I am going to say, but I can hardly find value in Napa nowadays. It has become stupid crazy and sometimes even unjustified. Very very few value plays in Napa right now. Yes, we all like the plush, the hedonistic, the fruit, etc, but there are other options outside of Napa. Why not try the Catena Zapata Argentino Malbec? AMAZING wine for 120 or so. Then you have the AAlto PS from Ribera del Duero, an extremely hedonistic wine than should be $100. And dont get me started with French wines because 10 years ago I was buying 9 Napas for each Bordeaux, now its the opposite. There are many Bordeaux wines that are not lean and that you could easily mistake for a Napa cab. Bordeaux is now hotter than ever ( temperature wise) so wines are more alcoholic, bigger, and much more fruit driven. You just know were to look. As per suggestions on Napa I would suggest Blankiet Prince of Hearts and Prince of music wines, very good for less than 80

• wine247365 commented:

  1/17/24, 9:29 AM - City S…thanks for the link to the JR article on Andy’s pricing model for his BTK grapes. In regards to my prior comment on Mike’s Elysian price increase, perhaps it simply reflected that Andy raised his price for those grapes by a third? Perhaps before we “blame” winemakers for price increases, especially of BTK fruit, we need to know what Andy’s current prices or latest increases are for the grapes as that may be the trigger for the winemaker’s price increases.

• RayT commented:

  1/17/24, 12:43 PM - The other component is that 2022 is considered an off vintage because of the heat spike. Supposed to be great variation in bottles and I haven't seen any reviewer scores to give us context. Also selling wine in January to get in Oct/Nov is a bit ridiculous. The only bottles I order in January are Maybach and Outpost and those are 21's and shipped in January. Not almost a year later.

• JLuch1 commented:

  1/17/24, 2:37 PM - Myriad specifically and the topic of Napa inflation is being discussed in detail in the berserker threads linked below. Whether fruit contracts are what is causing the increase or not, an over arching matter remains. At $300 a bottle there are world class wines both in Napa and in most wine making regions. Changes the equation and value proposition for sure.
  
  https://www.wineberserkers.com/t/what-s-going-on-with-napa-questions-and-concerns/308544/561
  
  https://www.wineberserkers.com/t/myriad-release/309320/39

• Badmonkey commented:

  1/31/24, 6:40 AM - Nice comments here - although I’m a little late to joining. I’m sure most are well aware of the fact that Mike had some nice longer-term contracts with some of the Beckstoffer vineyards and they all came up for renewal around the same time - thus the big price jump in recent years. I obviously miss the days of $95 for the Myriad Beckstoffer George’s cab but I knew it wouldn’t last long in consideration of some other Beckstoffer George’s cab prices at the time. I believe 2014 was the last vintage at that price. Although it’s obviously happened across the board with the Beckstoffer cabs looking at Carter Cellars, Bevan, Fait Main, Schrader, etc.. I’ve been priced out of paradise. Although there are still a lot of great wines at $100 and below as some others have noted. Cheers!

Add a Comment